Closure device on a pipe conduit

ABSTRACT

A rotary valve to be mounted in a pipe conduit and including an elastically yieldable packing cylinder fixed at one end by means of a short radial collar confined between the housing and a section of said conduit, and an annular sealing seat fixed to the rotatable ball member. The packing cylinder is arranged in a counterbore formed in the walls of said housing, and covers a space in said counterbore. The space, in the closed position of said closure member, being brought under liquid pressure so as to press the free end of said packing cylinder onto said seat.

United States Patent Kaiser 51 June 13, 1972 CLOSURE DEVICE ON A PIPECONDUIT [72] Inventor:

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data March 20, 1969 Switzerland..4357/69 April 15, 1969 Switzerland ..5788/69 [52] U.S.CI..25l/l72,251/l75,251/315 [51] lnt.Cl ..Fl6k 25/00 [58] Field ofSearch..251/177,172,173,175, 315

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,547,831 4/1951 Mueller..251/175 2,789,785 4/1957 Woods..... ...251/173 X 2,913,218 11/1959Broz; ..25l/173 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 634,185 11/1927 France.251/172 458,856 4/1928 Germany.. ..25l/l72 Primary E.\'aminerHarold W.Weakley AlmrneyDodge & Ostmann 5 7] ABSTRACT 1 Claim, 2 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDJUN13 I972 3, 669.404

INVENTO FRIEDR :c u KAI Attorneys CLOSURE DEVICE ON A PIPE CONDUITBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a valve device in apipe conduit,

comprising a housing and a rotary valve member retatably arranged. Anelastically yieldable packing cylinder is provided for sealing ofi therotary valve member in the closed position, said cylinder having at itsfree end an annular sealing surface and yielding elastically to such anextent in the closed position of the rotary valve member under load byliquid pressure that this sealing surface is caused to bear on a rigid,annular sealing seat formed on the rotary ball member A valve device ofthis type is known, in which the elastically yieldable annular packingcylinder is arranged on the rotatable rotary valve member andco-operates with a rigid sealing seat provided in the housing.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION By contrast thereto, the invention consists inthat the rigid sealing seat is arranged on the rotary valve member andthe elastically yieldable packing cylinder is arranged in a counterboreformed in the housing. The cylinder is provided with a narrow collar atone end which is confined between the valve housing and conduit section2, and with the annular sealing surface on the free end. In addition thepacking cylinder, in conjunction with the wall, defines an annular spacefor accommodating the liquid under pressure serving to load the packingcylinder.

By this arrangement and as compared with the known closure device, asimplification in construction is produced, and it is unnecessary thatthe liquid under pressure serving to load the packing cylinder beconducted from a fixed position into the rotatable rotary valve member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Constructional examples of a valvedevice according to the invention are shown in simplified form in thedrawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an axial section through a valve device with a sealing systemon the downstream side, and

FIG. 2 shows the sealing system thereof to a larger scale.

Components which correspond to one another bear the same references inall figures.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to FIG. 1, a ballvalve is installed between an upstream section 1 and a downstreamsection 2 of a pipe conduit, for example, the pressure pipe of ahydraulic power station, to serve as a closure device, said valvecomprising a housing 3 and a ball member 4. The latter is rotatablymounted by means of two pivots 5 and 6 in the housing 3. The ball member4 comprises a tubular portion, which extends coaxially of the pipeconduit in the open position and thus permits the unobstructedthroughflow of water through the pipe conduit, but in the closedposition as shown in the drawing, the said portion is disposedtransversely of the axis of the pipe conduit.

An elastically yieldable packing cylinder 24 bears with a sealing actionon a single annular zone 9, and provides a sealing system on thedownstream side of the valve. The elastically yieldable packing isconstructed as a thin-walled hollow cylinder 24, which is connected fastto the wall formed by the housing 3 and the section 2 on its end remotefrom the sealing surface 25. For this purpose, the packing cylinder 24comprises a collar 26 on the outside at its end remote from the sealingsurface 25, which collar 26 is clamped between the two adjoiningconnecting flanges of the housing 3 and the section 2 of the pipeconduit. The dimensions of the packing ring 24 are so established thatthe stressing which occurs in operation does not exceed the elasticlimit. v

If the valve device is to be opened, the annular space 10 is connectedto the downstream side by rotating the three-way cock l2 and thus isrelieved of water pressure. The pressure applied to the packing cylinder24 disappears and the sealing surface 25 is lifted, by virtue of theelasticity of the cylinder 24, away from the sealing seat 9 to such adegree that a very slight clearance s (see FIG. 2) is established, thisbeing sufficient in order to be able to turn the closure member 4 intoits open position. I

Iclaim:

l. A rotary valve in a pipe conduit, having a housing; said pipe conduithaving an upstream section and a downstream section, each of saidconduit sections connected to said housing; a valve member mounted forrotation in said housing and having a tubular opening therethrough, saidopening being aligned with said sections when the valve is open; anelastically yieldable, thin-walled tubular packing element; a narrowcollar projecting radially from the outer surface of said packingelement adjacent its downstream end, said collar being confined betweensaid valve housingand said downstream conduit section; an annularsealing seat fixed to said valve member; an annular sealing surfaceformed on the upstream end of said element; a pressure chamber definedbetween the outer surface of said element and said housing; and meansfor selectively delivering, fluid under pressure to said chamber orventing fluid therefrom so that, in the closed position of said valvemember, fluid under pressure in said chamber will press said sealingsurface onto said sealing seat.

1. A rotary valve in a pipe conduit, having a housing; said pipe conduithaving an upstream section and a downstream section, each of saidconduit sections connected to said housing; a valve member mounted forrotation in said housing and having a tubular opening therethrough, saidopening being aligned with said sections when the valve is open; anelastically yieldable, thinwalled tubular packing element; a narrowcollar projecting radially from the outer surface of said packingelement adjacent its downstream end, said collar being confined betweensaid valve housing and said downstream conduit section; an annularsealing seat fixed to said valve member; an annular sealing surfaceformed on the upstream end of said element; a pressure chamber definedbetween the outer surface of said element and said housing; and meansfor selectively delivering, fluid under pressure to said chamber orventing fluid therefrom so that, in the closed position of said valvemember, fluid under pressure in said chamber will press said sealingsurface onto said sealing seat.